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Thinking of flytipping in north London? Don’t be Crazy!

Author: David Oneill

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A Finchley firm has been ordered to shell out nearly £10,000 after a successful flytipping prosecution by Barnet Council that saw its two vans confiscated for two months.

Furniture shop Crazy Discounts – which is based in 17 Woodhouse Road – pleaded guilty to five offences of flytipping in nearby Lambert Way, Finchley, at Willesden Magistrates Court today (Tuesday 4 September). The firm was ordered to pay a £5,000 fine, £2,514 in costs, £2,000 in compensation and a £100 victim surcharge.

Workers from the store were caught flytipping with two Ford Transit vans when the council used CCTV to monitor Lambert Way after multiple reports of flytipping there. One of the vans was branded with the Crazy Discounts logo.

Barnet Council had been paying £400 a day, three times a week, to clear rubbish dumped in Lambert Way before its confiscation of the vans two months ago. Since that time, council contractors have found the street to be clean and clear during their daily inspections of the area. The vans will now be handed back to Crazy Discounts while the council continues to monitor the area.

Cllr Dean Cohen, Chairman of the Barnet Council Environment Committee, said: “Flytipping is a criminal activity that can seriously pollute the environment and put human health at risk. It’s also a downright nuisance and costs this council alone tens of thousands of pounds a year to dispose of. It may seem like a cheap and easy option, but we will not tolerate flytipping of any form, and we will prosecute the people behind it.”

The council recorded Crazy Discounts staff dumping unwanted items in Lambert Way on five occasions between 21 December 2017 and 4 July 2018. Dumped items included a bed, numerous mattresses, and a washing machine.

  • To report flytipping, visit barnet.gov.uk/flytipping or phone Barnet Council on 020 8359 4600 during office hours. If you see flytipping taking place, make a note of the vehicle registration number and the date and time of the incident and report it to the council.